Scorch Marks
by animekraze
Summary: For where there is ugliness and barren land, there is always beauty and hope. Zuko Alone based


**Because that **_**Zuko Alone**_** or whatever it's called episode just pissed me off. **

**I don't remember the little boy's name…so we'll call him "boy" for now (lawl). Wait, I found out (I think). Is it Lee? Whatever, I'll call him Lee. **

**Disclaimer: I own NONE!**

_**(ATLA)**_

The day was supposed to be normal, like any other day. The sun had risen, and the wind had blown. The yellow grass made way, swaying with the breeze; though the rising fires and outcries of one, singed the earth into dust.

The ground was scorched and burned.

The villagers had watched the fire bending boy with distrustful eyes and hatred boiling in the blood. They watched him leave, their farming tools gripped tightly in their hands, and continued to watch him until he couldn't be seen.

The little boy who had trusted the fire bender continued to watch, watching the setting sun, like a raging flame, set and disappear in the horizon. He watched the sky grow darker and darker still, watching the moon rising higher in the sky and the stars shining their light, just like the fire bender's fierce eyes. He thought of the boy's face, so sullen and saddened when everyone suddenly had come to hate him. Just because he could bend fire.

"Lee, come back inside already!" his mother cried out, "It's time for dinner!" the smell of the stew wafted to his nose.

Lee turned to his mother, her face darkened in contrast to the bright light in their cozy home. Then he thinks of Shen-Shu, where ever he may be, whether on the battle field or walking back home.

"Coming, mom." He cries out, running to his mother's arms where it's safe and secluded.

* * *

The ground was black and ugly. The streaks of burned earth reached out at the edges, like reaching out for something more. 

Lee played with the scorched dirt from time to time, remembering the bright flames that had surrounded the fire bender and licked away at the dusty ground. He presses a blackened piece between his fingers, and feels it break away into dust. His hand is covered with specks of black.

"Can't really trust any outsiders now." Some women were chatting.

"They might be another Fire Nation spy or refugee."

"To think we all trusted him."

"It's because of that scar on his face. It was like he was one of us."

Lee wipes his hands and knees.

The ground was scorched and without light. Little hands reached for the bright blue sky, but nothing came, and nothing was quenched.

"Lee, what are you doing?" His father cries out from his work. "Help me in the fields."

* * *

Lee sits in the middle of the wheat field, watching the wheat stalks bend with the wind. With days and days of people walking over the place, and the wind blowing away the blackened dirt, it was all almost gone. "Dad, who do you think that fire bender was?" 

"Who knows, and who cares." His father grunts. "He was a fire bender and that's all I need to know."

Lee notices a new tooth growing in at the gap between two teeth. It's been months since they had seen the stranger. "He must have a brother…or maybe a sister, too." Lee watches the golden stalks bend and sway with the wind. "He was really nice to me…" He thinks of the red, distorted scar, like a never ending fire continuing to eat away at his face.

The father walks up behind Lee, arms crossed, sweat dripping. "Lee, your brother sacrificed himself just so we could live a life free from any trouble." His father retorted, wiping the sweat from his brow. "Think of the future, not the past."

Lee watches the wheat bend and sway with the wind. Unlike the strong tree that fights, it allows itself to bend and sway, never having any danger of falling over. "Shen-Shu is alive, I know it." Lee nearly cries out.

"Move on, just move on."

The scorched ground can no longer be seen; all that remains is a bitter memory.

* * *

And so then years pass, the seasons always changing. It always became cold, and it always became warm again. With new rebel armies and continuous uprisings, the Fire Lord had fallen. Though a leader is never without any followers.

"The war's finally over?" His father is delighted by the news.

"Yes, sir. The Earth King is finally back to his rightful throne, and peace has been made between all races."

"This is wonderful news! Who helped with this entire thing?"

The news man rummaged through his bag and pulled out a few papers. "These people were mostly seen. The Avatar, a blind earth bender, two Water Tribe siblings and a fire bender." Each piece of paper had a sketch of each person. Though only one caught the father's eyes.

"This boy…" his father brought up the fire bender's portrait. "He came to this village once."

Lee looks up, "Let me see!" he runs to his father, reaching for the paper and finally snatches it away. He looks at the same face, the same scar. The fire bender's hair was longer, his face seemed more mature, but it was all the same.

"This guy is a real shocker. He's the Fire Lord's **son**."

His father held his head. "This world is too small."

Lee continued to look at the same face. The fire that burned his heart was long gone, where all that was left was thought. For years he had contemplated just how much justice there really was in the world. With each haul of wheat, he thinks of his dead brother. "Shen-Shu is dead…" he concluded, his bout of denial gone, "…but **he** isn't." Lee smiled, placing the picture down on the table and walking out of their home, a tune on his lips.

"Hey, Lee, look!" a young girl runs up to him (there had been rumors that they were closer than friends), pointing towards the gates of their small town.

Lee sees them, they're all running back. Instead of a retreating back, he sees the flushed faces of the men who were once young in their village. They run to their mothers, wives, lovers, children and more. Then he sees a face too familiar. "It's him." A face much more mature, broad shoulders, but the same scar remains, like the blazing flames that resembles the living sun.

And they welcome him with open arms.

Where ground had been scorched and burned, grew luscious and beautiful flowers that bloomed without time that blossomed like life giving fire. It prospered and flourished, living throughout the cold and warm.

For where there is ugliness and barren land, there is always beauty and hope.

_**(ATLA)**_

**DONE! Whoo...**

** Reviews are nice!**

**Edit: Uh...when I first edited this, I was half sleepy and too excited. I made some changes, some grammar, and some to clarify what I meant. I wonder if anyone noticed, how I made Zuko become accepted, just so suddenly, because he was on their side for a time. I was thinking about taking it out for a while, but I left it in, because that's how the world is. The only one who probably, truly saw Zuko for what he is, in this fic, was Lee. Sadly enough, we're all fickle beings that sway like the wheat blades. Just following the wind, so we won't get hurt.   
**


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